When Pep Guardiola announce that he was leaving Barcelona, the reason he have was that he was burnt out and needed a year away from the game to spend time with his family and recharge his batteries. Well that might not be the case anymore.
Speaking to the media ahead of the King’s Cup final against Athletic Bilbao in Madrid Guardiola said:
“Offers will be pleasantly received. But for the next months I have to charge my batteries, to charge my mind. I want to rest and I will wait. And I will be ready if one club wants me and they seduce me, I will train again.”
That does not sound like a man who wants to spend the next twelve months on the golf course. and Guardiola’s comments will give hope to Chelsea who have made it very clear that they want the Barca man to come to London and manage the European Champions. And Guardiola’s potential change of heart might explain why Chelsea have not committed to bringing back Roberto Di Matteo, as Chelsea obviously feel that Abramovich’s money might well tempt Guardiola to move to the Premier League this summer.
But if Guardiola does end up coaching somewhere next season, questions will be asked about his relationship with Barcelona President Sandro Rosell and whether that was the real reason why he wanted to leave the club.
Because from a coaching standpoint, it makes no sense to leave Barcelona and go to Chelsea. At Barca, Messi is entering the prime of his career, you have Neymar coming in two years, and lots of outstanding young talent. At the Nou Camp, Guardiola had a chance to rewrite the history books by building the best club side ever. To walk away from that to go to Chelsea just raises a lot of questions to me.